A malevolent force shrouds the land and monsters terrorize the last bastions of humanity. All seems lost and yet one hope remains: you. Take control of a mighty mercenary and leap into the heart of one of the most action-packed MMORPG experiences available.

July 16

Welcome to the first full Episode of Season 3! The list of changes, improvements, new features, new items and more is longer than Hurk's sword, and we're going into as many of the changes as we can below. So get ready, sharpen your swords, and prepare to embark on Vindictus' newest chapter!

Episode 1

In case you missed it, Episode 1 of Season 3 is here! The mysterious peaks of Ben Chenner beckon our heroes, and you'll need to keep your wits about you if you want to uncover the secrets of the mountain... and you might want to bring a few friends to watch your back.

Characters that have completed the final part of Season 3, Episode 0, "The Forgotten Ones" will be able to pick up the first quest in the new chain from Ceara in the Mercenary Headquarters in Colhen. Take charge, enjoy the fights, and get ready to take on Vindictus' newest boss...

New Raid Boss: Regina

Behold, Regina, Queen of the Elves! Whatever is happening on the slopes of Ben Chenner has seeped into this powerful sorceress, and now she's out for blood. Characters above Level 80 will be able to take her on with the newest Raid Mission, "Garden of Tears".

Warriors would be best served keeping an eye on her sword and her wings for the fight, as her speed can easily send even the mightiest fighters reeling. That said, her spells are also extremely potent, summoning missiles of light to pursue and batter around her foes. And beware when she takes to the skies, because she has a nasty habit of swooping down on her foes and sending them to a very early grave.

Beware the corruption of the land, however. The darkness of the world has a more physical effect here, and once it seeps into the clearing you'll have to be careful where you stand. Too much of the darkness, it could be your end. These aren't all of Regina's secrets, of course. You'll need your wits about you as you face off against the Queen of the Elves, but the prizes, they're going to be more than worth it.

Level Cap Increase and New Weapons and Armor

An entire new season of content is opening up for everyone, and with it comes an increase in the level cap. All characters will now be able to reach Level 90! Among the benefits you'll get from reaching the newest level cap are new Ability Ranks for weapons and armors, allowing up to Rank 5 for all Armor Proficiency and Weapon Mastery Abilities, and to go with that the new Regina Weapons and Armor sets!

But the Regina items aren't just new piece of metal to throw on. This time, there's a twist to the equipment...

Composite Item System

Those that manage to defeat Regina, or open our new Season 3 Battle Boxes, will see a different sort of equipment reward. Instead of simply getting a new weapon or piece of armor, once you defeat Regina you'll receive some of her enchanted Feathers. These are usable in a number of new crafting schematics with Dianann, a new crafter in the Magician's Shop in Rocheste.

With the right Feather, a few Legendary Shards that drop from the other bosses in Episode 1 and a decent pile of gold, you'll be able to craft yourself a powerful new item, ready to use in combat. Different Feathers and Shards have different attributes and stats, some with powerful, unique abilities, and combine together to give the weapon or armor it's stats.

Each Feather is specialized with a specific item slot, and serves as the core for the Regina Armor set, but you're bound to be getting more Feathers and Legendary Shards than you can use. For 2,000 Gold, Dianann will be willing to Dismantle your unwanted Feathers or Shards, giving you a Legendary Shard Remnant.

For 5 Legendary Shard Fragments, you'll be able to get a random Legendary Shard from the Royal Army Recruits, in either Colhen or Rocheste. You can also two new items for Seals of Bravery, Heroic Power Seal and Heroic Legendary Shard, that reward random Regina Feathers and Legendary Shards. Along with defeating Episode 1 Bosses, you'll be able to get a wide variety of powerful Shards andmake your gear is as powerful as possible, perfectly tuned towards your abilities... once you slot them in, of course.

Once you have a completed item, and you want to replace one of its components with a new, more powerful Shard or Feather, you'll be able to do so via the Replacement Composite screen, where for some gold, and a variety of other components, you'll be able to replace a chosen Shard or Feather with your new one. All other stats, including Enhance Level, Enchant Rank and other quality effects will remain, making it a significant discount over replacing the whole item.

Skill Awakening

Dianann isn't so merciful on this poor update post, however, because she has even more to offer you! In addition to the Composite system above, she's launching the Skill Awakening system, allowing all characters above Level 80 improve and customize their favorite abilities with powerful enhancements.

On the slopes of Ben Chenner, monsters are now dropping new items called Waking Stones. These stones contain the potential to alter your skills in a variety of ways, including reduced cooldowns, increased damages, longer duration and more. Just take the Waking Stone to Dianann and slot it into one of your existing skills.

Success is not guaranteed, however. You'll need to fuel the process with Erg stones, be it new powerful Erg Crystals dedicated to only this process or the common crystals that drop in nearly every dungeon, increasing the odds up to 40%. If the process succeeds, your skill will be empowered with the desired Stone... for a time.

As you use your newly empowered skill, the power will eventually fade, reducing the Skill's power down to its natural strength once all the magic runs out. Dianann is ready and willing to help you out with that too. Just select "Restore Awakening", find the expended ability and pick a Waking Stone you don't need and use it to restore the drained skill.

Heaven and Hell Sales

There's plenty of new items on sale, too! New packages, new Inner Armors, new Hairstyles, and two new Outfitters, one formed from the darkest depths, the other descending from the light of the heavens. Check out the Heaven and Hell Sales post for more details!

Race to 90 Events

We're also putting on some limited time events for your enjoyment, including one-time-only chance at making your mark on Vindictus: Can you be the first to hit Level 90? Check out that event, and many, many more, in the Race to 90 Events post!

July 6

“Gone, but not forgotten”, they say. But the dead are never truly gone, so long as we remember them. Their names live on as Legend, an eternal testament to their deeds of valor.

At least, that is how it should be, but no sooner do they breathe their last, are the Heroes of Rocheste and Colhen utterly forgotten… all memory of them sundered as surely as their armor... an injustice that no righteous man can allow to pass.

Season 3 has arrived to Vindictus, and the stakes have been raised to the very thing that all warriors hold dear: Their Legacy. When Episode 1 arrives this July, you’ll want to be well stocked for the fight, and we want to help out by giving you the opportunity to claim a package valued well over 60,000 NX for FREE!

Update Notes

It has been a lengthy campaign against the Fomors. We’ve had our great victories but we’ve also experienced grave losses. After years of battle, warriors have become fatigued and lost sight of what they were fighting for. Unfortunately for the ones still standing, there is more blood to be shed and many are frightened to see what lies ahead. The battered and bruised don’t know if they’ll survive this long journey…until now.

About This Game

A malevolent force shrouds the land and monsters terrorize the last bastions of humanity. All seems lost and yet one hope remains: you.

Take control of a mighty mercenary and leap into the heart of one of the most action-packed MMORPG experiences available. Master the art of combat as you utilize brutal combos, devastating magic and the environment itself to wreak destruction on your foes.

This is unlike any MMORPG you've experienced before. This is Vindictus.

Key features:

Brutal Combat – Experience a complex and fast-paced combat system that raises the bar for the MMO genre. There are dozens of combos to learn and spells to cast, and mastering them is the key to survival.

Avatar of War – Choose from nine distinct characters, including hulking behemoth Karok and exiled princess Lynn. Each has their own set of skills, exclusive armor and a unique personality. Learn their strengths and weaknesses to conquer your foes.

Forged in Blood – The monsters of Vindictus are some of the most fearsome you will ever face, so massive they blot out the sun. The greater the beast, the tougher the challenge, and the greater the rewards.

Brothers in Arms – Some horrors are too terrible to be faced alone. Team up with friends, form a clan, and take on Vindictus’ mighty raid bosses. Coordination is key, and only the strongest will survive…

8k character limit :c. full vers here: http://pastebin.com/RTJn7VykBefore I begin, the steam version of Vindictus is the NA version of the game, which services to the NA region + Australia. There is an IP lock for a good reason. If you live elsewhere, look out for the European, Korean, Japanese, Taiwanese or Chinese (<- no IP lock on this one!) version of the game depending on where you live. There are plenty of guides online that can help you get into any of the servers I mentioned, along with English patches.So, I’m known as Penguin. If you use the forums, or play on the West server, you might know me +hello. I don’t usually write reviews, but after seeing negative reviews only exaggerate on the negative points, I decided to write this. For the record, I started playing Vindictus on and off since open beta in 2010. Yes, scroll up and check that release date.

PROS:

Gameplay, gameplay and did I mention gameplay?

Extremely skill-based

Extensive armor customization/Fashion simulator 2015

Unique combat style for each character

Amazing graphics

Amazing soundtrack

So much free stuff from events

Game has a learning curve; it takes EFFORT to get good

CONS:

RNG, RNG, and did I mention RNG?

Hourly lag

Bots

Badly optimized

Limited character customization

PVP is unbalanced

NEUTRAL:

Peer2peer system

Cash shop

Two ends of the community

Grinding/Farming

Game has a niche audience

Gameplay:Simply amazing. This is the main reason anyone plays Vindictus. As far as I am aware, there is no f2p mmorpg on the western market that even comes close to how fluid and enjoyable the combat system Vindictus has to offer. The game runs around a normal/smash combo system where you use left/right clicks (or j/k keys or your gamepad buttons) to control your character. Unlike your traditional mmo, there is no tab-targeting, and your quickslots are mainly for potions and consumables. I fell in love with Vindictus’ combat system 5 years ago. 5 years later, I still love it. For comparison purposes, Vindictus is like Monster Hunter or Dark Souls.

Extremely skill-based:As discussed in the above post, Vindictus is a non-targetting action mmorpg. Raiding involves learning how to use your character’s survival mechanic to survive the attack patterns each boss has. Unlike many other action mmos on the market, a fraction of a second is enough to determine whether you survive or die to a boss. Something I heard from Junyoop, a relatively famous player and streamer of Vindictus KR (Mabinogi Heroes): ”in many mmos, if you play the class that has a shield without equipping the shield, it is impossible to survive. However in Vindictus, you can play the character with a shield (Fiona), and still do extremely well without equipping the shield”. As someone who mains Fiona, it’s true. You can play shieldless Fiona and survive solely with your invincibility-frameless roll, granted you have the skill. There are a few instances of sandbag bosses (Lakoria, Kraken head, Pantheum), but for the most part, facetanking raid bosses will most likely end with you dead.

Extensive armor customization/Fashion simulator 2015:Need I say more? Each equipment set has an extremely unique appearance, with most equipment having three dye slots that you can customize. You can even cosplay your favorite characters from whatever game/anime/TV/movie using the armor sets and dye system available in-game [and you can acquire the look you want using ONLY in-game gold!](click here for some examples). Seriously, Vindictus can may well be fashion simulator 2015 :D.

RNG, RNG, and did I mention RNG?Probably the only real legitimate concern about the game. Loot is RNG, your damage has (slight) RNG, enhancing/enchanting your gear is RNG. Luckily, with S3E1 coming relatively soon, the issue with loot RNG will be for the most part SOLVED with the seal shop. With the new seal shop you will be able to get your level 80 weapon within a week of raiding.

Badly optimizedVindictus was developed on the Source 1 engine. As a result, the game mostly runs on one core, resulting in your modern multicore processor taking performance hits (Intel runs better than AMD for this). As far as I am aware, there are no plans on moving to the newer Source 2 engine. DevCat has tried to remedy this issue by adding multicore support for raid hosts, and the function works amazingly when it does decide to work, but the multicore function is still in beta and can be buggy.

PVP is unbalancedBecause Vindictus was intended to be a PvE game. PvP was only added because of popular demand. Devcat has made some modifications to PvP in an attempt to balance the characters, but it isn’t quite enough. It’s still fun though.

Two ends of the communityLike every other game, there are nice people, elitists/scumbags and the silent people who just enjoy the game. As of late, I haven’t seen many elitists nor attack requirement boats, which is really nice. The silent people who just play the game take the majority though.

Grinding/Farming“This is a Korean MMO, it’s OBVIOUSLY a grindfest” …. In terms of leveling: not really, especially with how the low level content has been streamlined. Back in 2010, it took me a solid 8-10 hours to get to level 12. Now, it takes me 2 hours. Exp is no longer split between party members, and story quests give ridonkulous amounts of exp. Of course, there still exists some form of grinding, as this is an MMO, but seriously, unless you have zero tolerance for any kind of grinding, Vindictus isn’t much of a grind as you think it to be.

So, is Vindictus pay2win? My answer is a big, fat NO. ”But so many of the other reviews say that Vindictus is pay2win”. Go read the comments of those reviews. No reviewer has ever brought any evidence where players MUST pull out their wallets to advance in the game. Here are a few definitions of pay2win and how Vindictus does NOT meet most/all criterion.

Games that let you buy better gear or allow you to make better items then everyone else at a faster rate and then makes the game largely unbalanced even for people who have skill in the game without paying.As the saying goes, a dead DPS is no DPS. You can have God-tier gear and still die to lack of skill, AND get out-dps’d by a skilled player with moderate gear.

Ability to purchase high-end gear with your walletUh no? Unless you count the 2 day temporary lv sets, which are easily nothing in comparison to what you can acquire by actually playing the game. RNG boxes? Sure, they contain “high-end” gear, but I highly advise that you stay away from them. The rates on those boxes are crap for a reason.

Ability to get something/where that a non-paying player will never acquire without spending real cashOne thing. Prime outfitters. That is all, and the bonuses that come from prime outfitters have over regular outfitters (that can be obtained for free) are 200 att, 2 balance and in-town movement speed, which at end-game, is quite negligible. Otherwise, everything stat-wise a paying player can acquire is acquirable by a non-paying player.

So you want to play Vindictus? Heres what you want to know and my personal experince/opinions.

First and foremorst, while i do reccomend this game. Be wary, dont let it consume it, dont let it get to you. My total play time doesnt come from years of play, but rather months. And while a lot of it is due to afk hours (especially getting tired and just leaving the game open while i slept) thered be alot more if it counted my playtime i had on the standalone desktop version (downloaded from the site, used whenever steam wouldnt let me log on)

PROS:

-*TRULY* a free to play game. You honestly dont have to spend a dime if you dont want to, and thats something i loved. Almost anything can be bought with gold in game. (The only *exception* to this is the under armor, mainly for females. No, not because i want my character to run around in skimpy underwear, but because the defult underclothes will make some armors look bad. Especially shorter skirts/shorts. Now while you dont *need* this, its something that i opted to buy on both my female characters. Thankfully Nexon is nice and offers a kinda cheap deal of $13 PERMANANT Inner armor/Hair style (choose wisely))-Really nice graphics for a free to play game. My Notebook couldnt handle the max settings, most of the time i played on lowest to push out the most fps i could get, but i have friends who can run it better, or watch videos. The game is honestly stunning, from environments to boss battles.-Fairly well learning/difficulty curve. Easy to learn, hard to master.-Fairly nice community, specially if you join up with a guild when you start, i made some friends that will always hold a place in my heart.-Nexon hosts frequent events with rewards/giveaways. Allowing you to snag $ items for free.-(Pro/Con) Easy to get into and to continue playing, lots of things to do and work towards.

CONS:

-Nexon.. Need i say more?-FPS problems on lower-end systems, most likely caused by server inflation and patches with new content (This is one of the reasons i took a large break and then eventually quit the game. I used to not have many problems, but after Arisha came out and Nexon started handing out items like candy, my fps dropped to basically unplayable levels (15-10 or lower). If your PC is beefy enough to handle the game well, you shouldnt have a problem, but me and my notebook wept.)-Community. Im adding this in both PROs and CONs because well, thats how people are. Ive ran into some really rude people, made my fair share of enemies, and got ripped off more then once.. But, that honestly goes for any MMO.-Boat kicking/ATT requirement. Early on, this isnt a problem. You wont notice it and it wont bother you. Later on, when you start getting to lvl 70+ people will start tagging Attack requirements onto thier boats, kicking anyone who doesnt quailify. While i understand that certain bosses may need this due to the fact that theres a high chance youll fail if your DPS isnt good enough, Its troublesome, specially if you dont spend money/grind for hours/have help.-GRINDING. This is the last, but probably one of the most important things. Unless you get help, or know how to play the market really well, youre going to have to grind for your items. This kinda goes hand and hand with the boat kicking. Boss drops sell for ALOT of gold, but are extremely rare and RNG, and thats hard to grind for if youre getting kicked all the time. Just be wary about it, find good friends, and enjoy the game.

I leave it up to you if you want to play the game or not, i HIGHLY reccomend you at least download and try the game out. Dont be discouraged by the CONs, its ultimately up to you wether or not you enjoy the game. Just when you play follow this 3 golden rules.

1. BE FRIENDLY AND FAIR2. JOIN A GUILD AS SOON AS YOU CAN/MAKE FRIENDS3. MOST IMPORTANTLY.. JUST HAVE FUN

(P.s. You may notice the striking numbers of downvotes and negitive replies, while there is a bit of truth in all of them, the games not going to get better without new people coming into the game. With more and more people leaving or getting turned away by the bad reviews, the game is just going to become worse.. Its slowly dying. Only you can fix it, or at least try to help.)

A great game made by the worst MMO company in the History of online gaming called Nexon whom I will refer to as Shixon in this review. Save yourself the trouble, and do not play this game it's a waste of time and money.

Problems

*#1. If the vast skies were scrolls and the endless oceans were ink, I could not write enough bad things about any Shixon run game, this game is no exception.

*#2Servers are absolutely horrible. You wll get disconnected, you will lag, you will not be able to play the game properly no matter what server you are on. The community has complained to Shixon about this, but it seems like they are unwilling to upgrade their 56k dialup internet connection.

*#3Bots. As with any Shixon made game, bots are a problem. Not only do the millions of them that ruin this game cause severe server lag, but they also destroy the economy and other areas of the games completely. Right when you first start playing the game on Channel 1, you'll be greated by Bots standing right in the middle of town trying to steal your credit card information by selling gold for cash. Shixon has been unable to catch these bots even though they stand right in the middle of town yelling to everyone. DO you think it's safe to give your credit card information to hackers? Shixons lack of action against these bots shows that Vindictus is also a risk to your financial information and identity. You might spend $100 on your credit card on premium items only to have some hacker spend $10,000 on your credit card for a vacation to another country.

*#4Shixon. This argueably should always be the first problem anyone mentions when reviewing a game made by this company. This is the worst online gaming MMO company that has ever been formed.

*#5Poorly thought out events, drunk moderaters is the only explanation. Imagine that you played the game for a year or so, we all know how these MMO's work. You play the game and work hard to get your high level gear which can take MONTHS on this game. The day you get your high level gear you realize that Shixon has decided to run an event which practicly gives new players the same gear you have, and for free. What do you get for being a level 85 player who contributed to the game since the start? 20 healing potions. Yes this really did just happen. Typical Shixon.

*#6Unoptimized engine. You can have a 5 GHZ (Turbo) 8 Core liquid cooled AMD 9590/Nvidia 660TI/OC and the game will still find random ways to stutter despite the fact that I can play newer games like Wolfenstein the New order on max everything at 1080P without a stutter or hitch. This is due to a poorly optimized engine that does not use multiple cores what so ever at any point in time during playing. Intel Cpus are better for this game due to the pathetic level of coding since Intel Cpu's are usually rated better on single threaded applications.

The Good.

This can be summed up in one paragraph, at the core this is a great action hack n slash game. You'll play this game and say wow this is really great, this guy reviewing it must be crazy. Then you'll keep playing the game and realize everything I said was true a month down the road and you'll instantly wish you had the last month of your life back.